QUICKLINKS

Explore-a-saurus

Past Event: 1 June 2011 to 15 April 2012

Discover a world of dinosaurs at Scienceworks as you explore the science of palaeontology.

Scienceworks invites visitors of all ages to explore ‘how we know what we know’ about those most famous of prehistoric creatures – dinosaurs!

A new exhibition, Explore-a-saurus, has been developed by Scienceworks to demonstrate the ways in which palaeontologists use fossil evidence to learn about how dinosaurs lived; from what they ate and how fast they ran, to what colour they may have been and even how they cared for their young.

Discover the forensic method scientists use to learn about prehistoric life in a setting inhabited by Scienceworks’ own animatronic dinosaurs!

This interactive exhibition will explore the concepts of palaeontology in a fun and hands-on way by testing your strength against the strength of a T-Rex jaw and looking through the eyes of a carnivore or herbivore dinosaur.

Try your hand at being a palaeontologist by uncovering fossils and bones, comparing the types of plants that dinosaurs ate, examining insects under microscopes, recreating the sounds of various dinosaurs and seeing how they digested their food.

Uncover how dinosaurs lived, and see some of them come to life including herbivores Stegosaurus, Triceratops and Apatosaurus, as well as the carnivorous Tyrannosaurus rex, King of the Cretaceous Period!

Hi Po-Suan; no, this exhibition is un related to the Dinosaur Walk exhibition - Dinosaur Walk is a permanent exhibition at Melbourne Museum with displays of numerous skleltons of dinosaurs and other large extinct vertebrate animals, wheras Explore-a-saurus is a temporary exhibition at Scienceworks with animatronic dinosaurs and interactive displays.

The display at Docklands has no connection to Museum Victoria and is unrelated to Explore-a-saurus and Dinosaur Walk.

i can't believe how expensive an adult ticket is, I mean it's not like I'm going to be playing my husband and I are taking our 2 kids for them not for us, and I am shocked that a concession pays less than half. It doesn't make it easy for families who don't qualify for a health care card because one member works and we pay a mortgage not rent and are struggling as it is!!! My sons kinda has told them about the dinosaur expo and is so excited to go but due to the price we just can't afford it! It's just disappointing!

Just wondering why Dimetrodon is used in the advertising for this. It is not a dinosaur, didn't live along side dinosaurs and doesn't appear to have anything to do with the exhibition? There is also a picture of a pterosaur tagged as a dinosaur, which it isn't. Disappointing the Museum can't get this right.

Karyn - Thanks for your feedback. Just to clarify that the $18 adult entry into Explore-a-saurus includes general entry to Scienceworks. An adult would normally pay $8 for general admission and children and concession are free. I hope this clarifies the pricing for you and makes it more affordable as this will make it a full day’s outing.

Jack - an interesting question, considering many palaeontologists regard birds as a type of dinosaur now. Given this, you could say that dinosaurs haven't really died out at all!

However, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs (i.e. the 'dinosaurs that were not birds') became extinct 65.5 million years ago during a mass extinction event. This event marks the boundary of two major time periods in the geological time scale, this extinction is called the K-Pr boundary (meaning Cretaceous-Paleogene, formerly the K-T or Cretaceous-Teriary, boundary). Tyrannosaurus was one of the last of these dinosaurs, and was still around when the extinction event occurred 65.5 million years ago. As far as non-avian dinosaurs go, T.rex was one of the most recent.

Hi Joel, the illustration you refer to is indeed a Dimetrodon. Although dinosaurs are the main theme covered in Explore-a-saurus, the exhibition also examines other aspects of palaeontology and prehistoric life. The pterosaur image you refer to on the web has been incorrectly captioned – thanks for pointing this out!

Defintely think adult tickets are over-priced... my husband and i are going just to take our five kids, but we'll have to pay $36 just to admitt ourselves so we can take them in - pretty hard for a family to manage. Happy to pay for all the kids but feel like it's throwing money down the drain paying for us, 'cause quite frankly we're not interested in the show at all, just thought the kids would like it.

I am also a bit shocked at the price of entry.Its very dissapointing as i have 3 children under 6 and then theres my husband and me...I just cant justify paying that when we are also on one wage with bills and a mortage to pay.

Well after all those Positive?? comments Im going to take My son & afriend, suggestion for others have one parent take the kids and take your lunch /snacks with you Parkign is free so it can be a cheap day out Im looking forward it Science works is great fun for all ages !

I have been told to book before going to Explore a saurus. I do understand busy phone lines. I have tried for slabs of time over three days to get thru to an actual person, but best I can do is listen to hold music. I am getting pretty frustrated. Don't want to drive 1hr with kids to find we can't get in. Any suggestions?

Was going to suggest buying tix online but see they add a $2 charge PER TICKET for online bookings!! Now that really is unreasonable as we are saving labour costs by booking online but actually getting punished for doing it ourselves by being slugged an extra $2 per ticket!!!

I am with you Louise. It seems that most events these days want the cost savings to have patrons buy on line yet charge a booking fee. Putting it in perspective, if you had 10 tickets bought per hour that is $20 in revenue. Would a ticket seller be paid $20 per hour, I don't think so!! and I am sure they would get more that 10 sales per hour.

we all struggle financially. But nothing is for free. And I look forward to taking my 4 year old. Thank you for putting on a Dinosaur exhibition! We are very excited to see it.
And I agree, with previous comments. The parkings free, take snacks! And make a rare but wonderful family day out!

Here, here Jo. It costs more to take the kids to a crappy movie than this day long educational outing. Either pay the money and have a wonderful day out with the kids or go pay $2 for a weekly DVD and whack the kids in front of the TV for the holidays. Nothing is free and you can't get a full day out anywhere fir this price.

Jo - Emma. Totally agree.
Even if you don't go to the exhibits which incur an additional cost Scienceworks (at $8 per adult and free for the children) is the best Value for Money place I have been in Melbourne. It really is great.
I am fully aware of budgets and we all feel the pinch. If it is a stretch for the 'pay for' exhibits it is really worth the visit for the free exhibits and it is a full day out just for these. Just tell the children the tickets sold out for the other exhibits and shows - but do it before you go so they know this beforehand.
The first time I took my boys I didn't realise how much there was to see. We have probably been 6 times in the past 18 months it that good and that varied there has never been a bored moment. Given they are 5 and 6 that is a massive testimonial.

Really looking forward to bringing my 4 year old to see the Dinosaurs. Thank you for the advice on pre-booking. I am in the Grampians, so I do not want to make a wasted trip. Personally, I think your prices are reasonable. Try taking your family to the Melbourne Show in September...

can you take prams into the exhibition or not? I have had a look on the website and can't find anything regarding entry with prams. I just remember we couldn't take a pram into the Star Wars exhibition.

Hi Jamone, Yes you can certainly take prams into the Explore-a-saurus exhibition. The only places at Scienceworks prams can't be taken inside are the Lightning Room and the Planetarium (and this is to allow clear exit paths in case of emergency).

I took my 2yo grandson (an avid dinosaur fan) and he. LOVED it. Even more than the exhibition at Museum Victoria the previous week. It was the animatronics that won him (or, in his words, "robot" dinosaurs).

My kids can't wait to go and see it! Sciencworks is a great day out for the whole family. There are activities/displays to suit all ages and it is all interactive. Take a picnic and the kids can play on the playground. The cost at Scienceworks is very reasonable compared to many other "family friendly" venues.

Explore-a-saurus is suitable for all ages and, similar to other exhibitions on offer at Scienceworks, is very child-friendly and engaging. Whilst there is a lot of physical movement and loud noises, we have had many anecdotal comments (see John’s comment above) about young children thoroughly enjoying Explore-a-saurus.

Of course, every child is unique, which will influence how they respond to certain experiences. But if your 3 year old is a big fan of dinosaurs they should not find the exhibition scary.

I took my 18 month old son which absolutley loves dinosaurs,and 3 of my neices and nephews and they loved it we spent almost 2 hours in there the was very entertained, the dinosaurs are very life like and a little intimidating for the kids but they still loved it i think the price is great it maybe $18 for an adult but kids are free which is good for big families. thumbs up also science works is probably the best place to take the family with young kids in melbourne its great...

Hi Stamatina,On the Lower Ground Floor at Scienceworks we have a baby change room with two stations for changing nappies and a screened area with an armchair for baby feeding. The room also has a microwave for heating baby food and drink and a family toilet. It is shown on the map of the site

Hi, just wanting to confirm before I purchase tickets for my family that children under 3 are free. My boys both love dinosaurs and are 2 & 1 years old, really looking forward to taking them to see this exhibition!!!